The present invention relates to a novel glucopyranoside, 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of the formula 1 
The present invention also relates to a process for the isolation of said novel glucopyranoside of formula 1 from Pterocarpus marsupium. 
More particularly, the present invention relates to a process of isolation of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of formula 1, from Pterocarpus marsupium. The present invention also relates to a pharmaceutical composition containing 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of the formula 1 and to method for the treatment of diabetes using said compound of formula 1.
Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb (Leguminosae) also known as Indian Kino tree or Bijasar, is common in the hilly regions of central and peninsular India [Jain, S. K., Medicinal Plants, National Book Trust, New Delhi, 1968, p. 116]. The extracts of leaves, flowers and gum of this tree have been used medicinally in the treatment of diarrhea, toothache, fever, urinary tract and skin infections. [Chopra, R. N., Chopra, I. C., Handa, K. L. and Kapur, L. D., Indigenous Drugs of India, 2nd Ed., Dhar, U. N. and Sons Private Limited, Calcutta, 1958, p. 522]. The extract of the bark has long been regarded as useful in the therapy of diabetes [Kirtikar, K. R. and Basu, B. D., Indian Medicinal Plants, 2nd Ed., edited by Blatter, E., Cailes, J. F. and Mhaskar, K. S., Singh and Singh, Delhi, India, 1975, V. 2135]. It is reported by Chakravarthy et al [Chakravarthy, B. K., Gupta, S. and Gode, K. D., Lancet, 1982, 272 (and references cited therein)] that the active hypoglycemic principle of the bark is (xe2x88x92)-epicatechin and that its effect is due to the regeneration of pancreatic beta cells. However, this claim has been questioned by Kolb et al [Kolb, H., Kiesel, U., Grenlich, B. and Bosch, J. V. D., Lancet, 1982, 1303] and Sheehan et al [Sheehan, E. W., Zemaitis, M. A., Slatkin, D. J. and Schiff Jr., P. L., Journal of Natural Products, 1983, 46, 232]. It is now felt that further investigation is necessary before (xe2x88x92)-epicatechin can be considered a viable antidiabetic agent for use in human clinical studies.
Practitioners of the Indian System of Medicine are of the view that the heartwood rather than the bark of Pterocarpus marsupium is useful for treatment of diabetic patients and that older the plant more efficacious is its heartwood. It is also claimed that only heartwood that is distinctly red in colour and which imparts a red colouration with bluish green fluorescence to water in which it is kept soaked is suitable for use as an antidiabetic drug.
Hypoglycaemic effects of aqueous or alcoholic extracts of heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium have been verified by experimental [Shah, D. S., Indian Journal of Medical Research, 1967, 55, 166 and references cited therein; Gupta, S. S., Indian Journal of Medical Research, 1963, 51, 716] and clinical studies [Sepha, G. C. and Bose, S. N., J. Ind. Med. Assoc., 1956, 27, 383; Kedar, P. and Chakrabarti, C. H., Maharashtra Med. J., 1981, 28, 165]. The heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium is rich in phenolics. Chemical investigation on heartwood of P. marsupium dates back to 1946 but early works [Bhargava, P. N., Proc. Ind. Acad. Sci., 1946, 24A, 496] on this drug are fragmentary in nature. Previous reported studies on this plant disclose the following chemical constituents.
1. The ether extract of P. marsupium heartwood furnished isoflavonoid glycol 4,4-dihydroxy-xcex1-methylhydrobenzoin designated Marsupol [Rao, A. V. S., Mathew, J., Phytochemistry, 1982, 21, 1837], a benzofurannone derivative, 2,4xe2x80x2,6-trihydroxy-4-methoxybenzo(b)furan-3(2H)-one designated carpusin [Mathew, J. and Rao, A. V. S., Phytochemistry, 1983, 22, 794], 2-propanol derivative, 1,3-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propan-2-ol, designated propterol [Rao, A. V. S., Mathew, J. and Shankaran, A. V. B., Phytochemistry, 1984, 23, 897], 1-(2,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)propan-2-ol designated propterol B [Mathew, J., Rao, A. V. S. and Rambhav, S. Current Science, 1984, 53, 576], 6-hydroxy-7-O-methyl-3-(3-hydroxy-4-O-methyl benzyl)chroman-4-one [Jain, S. C., Sharma, S. K., Kumar, R., Rajwansh, V. K. and Babu, V. R., Phytochemistry, 1997, 44, 765].
2. Ethyl acetate soluble fraction of alcoholic extract of the heartwood furnished pterosupin xcex2,2xe2x80x2,4,4xe2x80x2-tetrahydroxy-3xe2x80x2(c-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside)dihydrochalcone [Adinarayana, D., Syamsundar, K. V., Seligmann, O., and wagner, H., (Z. Naturforsch., 1982, 37C, 145)], Marsupinol [Trivedi, J. J., Indian J. Phys. Pharmacol, 1997, 15, 51], 5,4xe2x80x2-dimethoxy-8-methylisoflavone-7-O-xcex1-L-rhamnopyranoside, retusin-O-xcex2-D glucopyranoside and irisolidine-7-O-xcex1-L-rhamnopyranoside [Mitra, J. and Joshi, T., Phytochemistry, 1982, 21, 2429] and 5,7xe2x80x2-dihydroxy-6-methoxy-7-O-xcex1-L-rhamnopyranoside [Mitra, J. and Joshi, T., Phytochemistry, 1983, 22, 2326] obtained from the ethyl acetate soluble fraction of alcoholic extract of the heartwood.
3. Novel benzofuranone derivative, 2,6-dihydroxy-2-(p-hydroxybenzyl)-4-methoxy-3(2H)-benzofuranone designated marsupin [Maurya, R., Ray, A. B., Duah, F. K., Slatkin, D. J. and Schiff, P. L. Jr., Heterocycles, 1982, 19, 2103], pterostilbin, (2S)-hydroxyflavone, isoliquiritigenin, liquiritigenin, 7,4xe2x80x2-dihydroxyflavone, 5-deoxykaempferol and 3,7,4xe2x80x2-trihydroxyflavone [Maurya, R., Ray, A. B. Duah, F. K., Slatkin, D. J. and Schiff, P. L. Jr., J. Nat. Prod. 1984, 47, 179], two C-glycosides, 8-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranosyl-3,7,4xe2x80x2-trihydroxy and 3,7,3xe2x80x2,4xe2x80x2-tetrahydroxy flavone and 3xe2x80x2-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranosyl-xcex1-hydroxy dihydrochalcone [Bezuidenhoudt, B. C. B., Brandt, E. V., and Ferreira, E. V., Phytochemistry, 1987, 26, 531] from ethyl acetate extract of defatted heartwood.
However, the prior art does not provide any details about the biological activities associated with such chemical constituents. Also prior art discloses only preparation of ether extract, ethyl acetate extract and ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the alcoholic extract but does not disclose any method of preparing water extracts of heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium and attempting to isolate any chemical constituents therefrom.
The main object of the invention is to accordingly prepare water extracts of the heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium and to obtain chemical constituents therefrom.
It is another object of the invention to obtain novel bioactive fractions from water extracts of heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium which are useful in treatment of diabetes.
The above and other objects of the invention are achieved by partitioning an aqueous extract of powdered heartwood of Pterocarpus marsupium with different organic solvents. The novel bioactive fraction, 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside is isolated from the polar fraction by choromatographic techniques and is found to show hypoglycaemic activity. There is no disclosure in the prior art of this compound since work had been done in the art on the ether extract, ethyl acetate extract and ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the alcoholic extract.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a novel glucopyranoside 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of formula 1 where R is H or COCH3 
The present invention also provides a process for the isolation of 6hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of the formula 1 which comprises:
(a) powdering the heartwood of the plant Pterocarpus marsupium, 
(b) extracting the powdered plant material with a protic solvent,
(c) concentrating the extract to minimum volume and partitioning with different organic solvents of increasing polarity to remove non-polar components, extracting the aqueous layer with polar solvent, removing the solvent to get the residue,
(d) isolating 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside from the residue.
In one embodiment of the invention, the protic solvent used for preparing the extract in step (b) is selected from the group consisting of water, methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol and any mixture thereof.
In another embodiment of the invention, the organic solvents used in step (c) comprise solvents of increasing polarity containing 1 to 6 carbon atoms in the molecule.
In another embodiment of the invention, the organic solvents of increasing polarity used in step (c) to remove the nonrpolar components comprise hexane, chloroform, methanol and ethanol in that order.
In another embodiment of the invention the organic solvents of increasing polarity used to extract the aqueous layer comprise hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol in that order.
In another embodiment of the invention the organic solvents of increasing polarity used to extract the aqueous layer comprise hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, propanol and n-butanol in that order.
In another embodiment of the invention, the chromatographic methods used for the isolation of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside is selected from MPLC, HPLC and flash chromatography.
The present invention also provides a pharmaceutical composition containing a pharmaceutically effective amount of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of formula 1 in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier.
In one embodiment of the invention, the amount of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside in said composition is in the range of 0.5 mg to 15 mg per kg of body weight of the patient.
The invention also relates to a method for the treatment of diabetes comprising administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofiuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside to a patient.
In one embodiment of the invention, the amount of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside in said composition is in the range of 0.5 mg to 15 mg per kg of body weight of the patient.
The present invention also relates to the use of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside in the preparation of a pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of diabetes.
In one embodiment of the invention, the amount of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside in said composition is in the range of 0.5 mg to 15 mg per kg of body weight of the patient.
The present invention provides a process for the isolation of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside which comprises:
(a) powdering the heartwood of the plant Pterocarpus marsupium, 
(b) extracting the powdered plant material so prepared with a protic solvent,
(c) concentrating the aqueous extract to minimum volume and partitioning with organic solvents of increasing polarity to remove non-polar components, extracting the aqueous layer with polar solvent, removing the solvent to get the residue;
(d) isolating the 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside from residue.
The solvent used for preparing the extract may be water, methanol, ethanol, propanol and butanol and like or their mixtures. The organic solvent used in step (c) to remove the non-polar components is selected from hexane, ethyl acetate, methanol, ethanol, propanol, n-butanol and chloroform. The polar solvent used to extract the aqueous layer is selected from ethyl acetate, propanol, butanol and a mixture thereof. The chromatographic methods used for the isolation of methanol, ethanol, propanol may be MPLC, flash chromatography etc.
In the MPLC method the required eluting solvent is pumped through the column and in the flash chromatography solvent is pushed with air pressure. The compound of the invention was recrystallised from a mixture of ethyl acetate and methanol, mp 117-118xc2x0 C., [xcex1]D19+9.15xc2x0 (MeOH, c, 0.295), showed UV maxima at 242, 253 and 284 nm in methanol. The molecular formula of the compound was established as C21H22O8 on the basis of strong peak at m/z 402 [M]+ in the FAB mass spectrum, together with the support of spectroscopic methods.
The compound 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside was isolated from the n-butanol soluble fraction of the water decoction of the heartwood of P. marsupium which has shown antidiabetic activity in both humans and animals. There is no disclosure in the prior art of this compound since work had been done in the art on the ether extract, ethyl acetate extract and ethyl acetate soluble fraction of the alcoholic extract.
The process of isolating active principle from Pterocarpus marsupium comprises partition of the aqueous extract of powdered heartwood with different organic solvents containing 1-6 carbon atoms in the molecule. 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of formula 1 is isolated from polar fraction by applying modern chromatographic techniques such as medium pressure liquid chromatography (MPLC), high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and flash chromatography using silica gel (230-400 mesh) and shows hypoglycaemic activity.
The 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside isolated from Pterocarpus marsupium possesses anti-diabetic activity.
The chromatographic methods used for the isolation of 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside may be MPLC, flash chromatography etc. In the MPLC method the solvent is pumped through the column and in the flash chromatography is pushed with air pressure. The IR spectrum revealed absorptions at 3300 for hydroxyls, 1600, 1584, 1512 cmxe2x88x921 for aromatic ring. The 1H and 13C NMR spectra exhibited two sets of multiplets for aromatic protons centered at xcex47.18 (H-5,3xe2x80x2,5xe2x80x2) and 6.70 (H-4,2xe2x80x2,6xe2x80x2), one furan proton singled at xcex46.27 (H-3), xcex4C 102.9, a singlet for one benzylic methylene group, at xcex43.65, xcex4C 34.2 and multiplet at xcex43.00-5.00 for sugar protons. The spectral data suggest that the compound of the invention is a benzofuran C-glucoside containing one phenolic hydroxy group in ring xe2x80x94C. On acetylation the compound of the invention furnished hexa-acetate where in formula 1 R is acetyl, recrystallised from methanol, mp 80-81xc2x0 C., [xcex1]D19xe2x88x9285.40xc2x0 (CHCl3, c, 0.185), showed UV maxima at 248, 252; 278, 286 nm in chloroform. IR in KBr 1725, 1600, 1580, 1385 cmxe2x88x921, the molecular formula of the hexaacetate being C33H34O14, m/z 655[M+1}+. The 1H and 13C NMR spectra indicated the presence of four singlets for sugar acetate groups at xcex42.17, 2.16, 2.09, and 2.08, two singlets for aromatic acetate groups at xcex42.42, and 2.35, one singlet for bynzylic methylene group at xcex44.16, xcex4C 34.3, one singlet for furan proton at xcex46.38, xcex4C 103.4, two ortho coupled aromatic protons at xcex47.46 (1H, d, J=8.4 Hz), and 6.92 (1H, d, J=8.4 Hz), one A2B2 aromatic system at xcex47.36 (2H, d, J=8.3 Hz) and 7.10 (2H, d, J=8.3 Hz). The anomeric proton of sugar appeared at xcex45.02 (1H, d, J=9.9 Hz), xcex4C 74.5, indicating it to have the xcex2-configuration on the basis of chemical shift and coupling constant [Roberts J. D., Weigert, F. J., Kroschwitz, J. I. and Reich, H. J., J. Am. Chem.Soc., 1970, 92, 1338]. Further methine protons of sugar appeared at xcex45.73 (1H, d, J=9.3 Hz), 5.42 (1H, d, J=9.2 Hz) and 5.28 (1H, d, J=9.4 Hz). Coupling constants for the methine protons H-1xe2x80x3 to H-5xe2x80x3 of the hexose showed an all trans-axial relationship and together with the methylene (H-6xe2x80x3) resonances confirmed the identity of sugar as xcex2-D-glucose. Further the carbon chemical shifts of the glucose moiety were congruent with those of C-xcex2-D-glucopyranosyl residue [Ikeya, Y., Sugama, K., and Maruno, M., Chemistry and Pharmacology Bulletin, 1994, 42, 2305] and HMBC spectra indicated it is linked to aglycone at C-7. On the basis of the above spectral data the structure of the compound was established as 6-hydroxy-2-p-hydroxybenzylbenzofuran-7-C-xcex2-D-glucopyranoside of the formula 1 where R is hydrogen.
The compound was evaluated for hypoglycaemic activity in 18 hour fasted Wistar rats. In a dose of 15 mg/kg p.o., hypoglycaemic effect was recorded in all the treated rats. The mean fall recorded was 24 mg/100 ml blood, from an initial mean of 91 to mean of 67 mg/100 ml blood. As compared to this, conventional hypoglycaemic agents such as chlorpropamide used as a positive control showed mean fall of 18 mg/100 ml of blood.